Queensland regional, rural and remote senior secondary student perceptions of enablers and barriers to successfully completing online courses

Queensland regional, rural and remote senior secondary student perceptions of enablers and barriers to successfully completing online courses

Providing education to all Queensland senior secondary students requires schools, Registered Training Organisations (RTO’s) and Universities to employ online learning to deliver curriculum over Queensland’s vast geographical region. Many regional, rural and remote senior secondary students across Queensland these online courses to bolster their Senior Education Training Plan (SETP), access Vocational Education training Qualifications, achieve a Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) or earn on Overall Position (OP) score for University entry requirements.

This study explores what might be done to mitigate barriers and what educators can do to enhance educational outcomes for senior secondary students who access online courses. Over the past decade there has been an increase in research activity in the K–12 sector, most from the teacher’s or organizational perspective, and predominately, undertaken outside of Australia. Researchers have identified the need for research to shift focus from the teacher and organizational perspectives to the student experience of online learning. This study aims to address the dearth of student voice literature by researching Queensland regional, rural and remote senior secondary (Year 10–12) student perceptions of the enablers and barriers they experience in online learning.

Based on findings in the literature, focus areas identified for the research and were formalised into three main themes: resources and content, socialization and communication, and finally teacher-student relationships. The research used an Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods design with quantitative data collection in phase one through the use of an online anonymous survey and follow-up focus groups for phase two. Participants were selected, using a convenience sampling technique, with participants drawn from state secondary schools and non-state schools of distance education across Queensland.

The study contributes original practical and theoretical research outputs. The research discusses the significance of the teacher-student relationship in an online course, highlights the importance of the quality and selection of the resources and content within an online course and finally presents student’s perceptions about the role of socialisation and communication within an online course. The research presents a student-centred virtual learning conceptual lens that provides a framework for understanding online learning from the student point of view.

File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author.